The United States is slated to become the world’s largest oil producer by the year 2023, according to the International Energy Association, or IEA. The rising demand for oil, said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, has “unleashed a wave of growth from the U.S.” American crude production is expected to reach a record of 12.1 million barrels a day in 2023, up from the current 10.6 million a day. This mean that the U.S. will out produce Russia, which currently pumps the most oil at 11 million barrels a day.

The American oil boom is being helped by technological advances, improved efficiency and a moderate increase in oil prices that has made shale drilling cost effective. Moreover, President Donald Trump has reversed a historic number of regulations to allow use of public and private lands to safely develop oil and gas and other energy resources, including wind and solar.

This means that the United States is getting closer to President Trump’s stated goal of energy independence.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke stressed that opening up of new lands to energy exploration also includes “stewardship” of the environment. Indeed, he noted that the U.S. is embarking on “its largest investment in [its] public lands and the park system in the history of this country, and it’s going to be funded from energy.”

In a recent discussion forum, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry noted the importance of allowing the private sector to develop the oil and natural gas sectors. Rapid growth in the production of Liquefied Natural Gas has enabled the U.S.to become a net exporter. As a net exporter, the U.S. is not just exporting energy, but freedom, said Secretary Perry. “You think about what that means around the world, that. . .people who we want to be our allies, now know that because of American energy coming to their shores, they are free from countries that would. . .put those values that those countries have in jeopardy.”

Reflecting the Views of the U.S. Government as Broadcast on The Voice of America